Tech Wars
by rangermaid
Summary: A new villian plunges the city in darkness. Robin and the Titans must face his past and ali with a mortal enemy or face destruction. And when the fight spreads to Gotham, they find themselves facing a new type of problem. Have I caught your attention?
1. Prologue: Ultimatum

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, names or places below, all are owned by both DC Comics and Warner Bros. Rated T for violence, death and action.**

**TECH WARS ****by Rangermaid**

"_**War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace be killing each other's children" –Jimmy Carter**_

* * *

**Prologue:**

**Ultimatum**

"_**All war represents a failure of diplomacy" Tony Benn**_

* * *

_"And don't forget, today's Fathers Day! We have all the best gifts for the dad in your-"_

"Turn it off!"

Raven and Robin looked at each other in surprise, having yelled at the same time.

Weird.

Beastboy looked at them curiously, his large green eyes flickering from one friend to another. "What's wrong?" He turned off the TV and turned to Raven, who slammed her book shut.

"I have father issues, as you well know."

Beastboy thought about Raven's dad, the demon Trigon, and winced. "Oh right. Hey what about you Rob, what's bugging you?"

Robin merely stood and walked over to the fridge to search for a soda. Raven watched him, slightly irritated. That was so like him, to keep it all to himself…

"Cola?"

Beastboy perked up and nodded. "Hey, Robin, we have any more cheetos?"

"I'll check."

Raven sighed and went back to her book. It was a quiet day at the tower, Starfire and Cyborg were out shopping and getting pizza for dinner. Beastboy had been glued to the TV since about six when a marathon of The Office had begun and had watched until about noon when Raven had threatened to break the TV if he didn't stop. While flipping through the channels he'd discovered a marathon of Criminal Minds and that had been acceptable. In fact it had even managed to keep Robin in the room when he came in for lunch. No one had seen the boy all morning and Raven had been tempted to go looking for him but had decided it was none of her business. Now they were waiting out the commercials, muted, to find out if Reid was right about the unsub's parentage.

Beastboy smiled and accepted his cola as Robin settled in between them and opened his own can. "…When are they coming back?"

"Who knows." Raven sighed and closed her book as Robin looked at it thoughtfully.

"East of Eden?"

"I like Steinbeck."

"HhRrm…" Robin's mask moved as he made a skeptical noise and Raven growled at him.

"Keep your opinions to yourself boy wond-"

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_ As the red warning lights flashed and made the shadows dance around the room, Robin whipped out his communicator and scanned a message as he leapt up, "Titans trouble, Cinderblock's loose!"

* * *

"Whoa!" Cyborg crashed into the wall of the department store _hard_. Picking himself up, he winced and muttered, "For a walking rock, this guy's pretty good."

Starfire flew at Cinderblock, desperately shooting starbolts at the monster's head but it had next to no effect on the creature. He grabbed her and held her in a crushing grip as an explosion next to him unbalanced the creature and he fell letting her go.

Cyborg gave a whoop as he charged his sonic cannon. "Here's the Calvary!"

Robin, Raven and Beastboy ran foreword, the girl lashing out with her energy and wrapping around on of Cinderblock's arms as Robin rode his bike right next to the creature, catching Starfire as she fell and coming to a stop next to Cyborg.

"You alright?"

"Yeah man, it's good. Blockhead here just showed up and went nuts." Cyborg took aim at the thing and blasted his head. As Cinderblock fell he saw one last vision of Beastboy in elephant form moving on huge foot at him before he fell into blackness.

"Guys, a little help?!"

Raven was using all her willpower to keep a half demolished building from falling on a group of civilians. Cyborg and Beastboy went after the group, leading them out as Starfire flew to the second floor and flew down a few children. Robin was about to join them when he spotted a child trapped under a beam. The teen ran in, helping the little girl and shoving her towards the exit.

"GO, run!"

As the teen yelled the building began to crumble and it was obvious that he wouldn't make it out in time. Before anyone could react a figure on a four wheeler had grabbed him and pulled the boy out. The collapse sent them flying to land on the hard ground as dust and debris settled. Robin stared at the masked figure pinning him down. "Who-"

Gasping in pain as a nerve strike rendered his limbs useless, Robin gazed up helplessly at the man standing over him.

"Why…"

"Not yet boy. You still are of use to us."

The mystery man disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving behind a very confused boy wonder.

"Rob, you okay?"

The teen looked up at Beastboy shakily and sat up, his head spinning. "I…think so…"

"What just happened?"

Robin's eyes were focused straight ahead as he sat there before shaking his head. "I don't know…but I have a bad feeling."


	2. Chapter 1: First Move

**Chapter One:**

**First Move**

"_**I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity." –Dwight D. Eisenhower**_

* * *

Nothing.

There was nothing in _any_ of my files on my attacker. Which meant my files were incomplete. That mad me _mad_. Of course, I had to give myself some slack; the ninja, there was no other way to describe him, had no distinguishing marks, signs or emblems. I wouldn't even have cared if he had just saved my butt; however, the very well done nerve strike bothered me, as did the man's words:

_"Not yet boy. You still are of use to us."_

I _hate_ when people say that. Like I'm some sort of tool. It was always happening, even back when-

_What was the date?!_

I pulled up a calendar on the screen and groaned at the answer. I was late! I stood from where I had been seated in front of our computer central in the living room of TitansTower and, turning, bumped right into Beastboy whose mouth was open in mid question; the fact that I hadn't heard him approach was proof of how distracted I was.

"Um Robin?" Beastboy shifted to the side so he was blocking my way. "I know you're all freaked about that ninja dude but maybe if you took a break you'd, sorta, get an idea…so…"

"Beastboy, don't worry I'm…taking a break right now." I took a step forward but was blocked by my green friend.

"Oh, cool. You wanna watch Wicked Scary 2 with me and Cy?"

"Not right now." I tried to make for the door. Beastboy just got in my way again. "Seriously I don't have time!" He wasn't moving and my patience was at the breaking point, I was already an hour and a half late.

_Alright time for dirty tactics_.

"Hey Beastboy?" My change of tone must have caught his attention. "You know that trick the ninja used on me? You wanted to see how it works, right…?"

* * *

_I am not proud of what I did._

…_Mostly._

As I made my way through a twisting path in Gotham Cemetery I thought over my problem some more. A ninja…ninja…what was the likelihood of a ninja arriving in Jump City? What was his goal? There weren't that many groups like that in the US…could it be? I stopped dead. That would explain why he wasn't in my files, the plain and untraceable uniform, the deadly skill and the location.

_Oh, man, are we in trouble_.

Then I shook my head and huddled further into my leather jacket. I was jumping to conclusions, there was a chance it was totally unrelated. I couldn't afford to be paranoid, not after…

_What if you're right? What if you have a chance to be ready and to stop something horrible but you chicken out again and fail? You can't afford that either._

I stood there on the shady path and stared at my feet as I thought. I'd look into it, but I wouldn't tell the others. There was no reason to worry them.

* * *

A shadowy figure watched the boy slip toward a set of tombstones and sit down. He was thinner than he remembered, that and the stiffness as he moved showed that the teen was hardly at his best. Which wouldn't do at all; the boy had to be ready; they all did. The man looked from the two headstones to the teen and registered that the teen was tense and vulnerable. He could wait a little longer, now was not the time…

Robin ran his hand through the grass and stared at the tombstones, gazing at the two names engraved in the white marble and fought back his torrent of mixed feelings.

"Sorry I'm late…I know I said I'd come every year at the same time but…well, Jump City's a bit of a drive. And…I have a problem. There was a man…he took me down with one hit. And I guess I'm not used to that; I've gotten pretty good over the last couple years and I guess I'm getting cocky…or even more so." The teen smiled at some memory before smoothing his hand over the cool stone. "Anyway…He's up to something, and he's not alone-at least I think he's not. He said…he said I would 'be of use' to him…I, I can't figure out what's going on…it may be nothing…but-"

A tear leaked out from his mask. "I'm scared…What if things get bad and I can't keep it together and protect the team? Because…I know things are going to get bad…I have the same feeling…mom…dad…the feeling I had before you died."

* * *

I walked into the control room, expecting everyone to be asleep since it _was_ three in the morning. To my surprise, Cy was up and had taken over my usual spot in front of the computer. I walked over and leaned on his shoulder. "What's up?"

He glanced up at me. "Cross referencing for that ninja; I'm almost as curious as you are." He swiveled around to face me and crossed his arms, I knew that look; it was the 'you are so in for it' look. "About Beastboy…"

"Nerve strike." I said calmly before he could start. "Knocks him out cold without lasting damage or lingering pain…well he may be a little sore…"

"Dude, don't do it again."

"Gotcha." I shifted from foot to foot and avoided eye contact. I knew my actions had been completely out of line, but I really didn't feel like explaining myself. "So…what did you find out?"

"Nothing." Cy leaned back and frowned. Now, I'm pretty dang good at computers, _very_ good, but if _Cy_ was having trouble…Maybe I was right. I had really been hoping I wasn't.

"I see." I began to back away, I had to go look up some things and make sure I wasn't overreacting. But Cy stood up and eyed me suspiciously.

"Rob? What are you hiding?"

"Nothing." _Liar, liar, liar_…

"Really?" Cy sounded skeptical at best.

"Yes, really." _LiarLiarLiarLiarLiarLiarLiar LiarLiarLiarLiarLiarLiarLiar LiarLiarLiar_

"Robin, for once in your life, tell someone what's wrong."

"Hey!" I tried to defend myself but couldn't think of a comeback. _LiarLiarLiarLiar _"Yeah…whatever." I tried to ignore the look he gave me and almost sighed with relief when he changed the topic.

"I got an e-mail from Bumblebee earlier; Titans East needs some help with their tower. She asked if I'd come help her but didn't want to leave us shorthanded so Speedy's coming to stay with you guys until the work is done. That cool?"

"Of course." He really didn't even need to ask; we all wanted to do anything to help our eastern counterpart. I just hoped Speedy wouldn't remember today's significance… Because if he did and started being all 'concerned', then all our hard work would be down the drain. And pretending not to know each other had been hard…

* * *

The man ran down the dim alley, sweat streaming down his face, stumbling over trash and his chest heaving as he fumbled with a pink, lacey purse.

His name was Will.

Will had moved to Jump City from Metropolis only three months earlier with his best friend, Randy. He and Randy had a tendency to get in trouble, and from almost the minute they arrived, they'd been picking pockets and snatching trinkets. Unfortunately, Will wasn't that good at it. Which was what had led to him running down a dark alleyway.

Suddenly a cloaked figure was hanging in the air in front of him.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

A hand shot out of the billowing cloak, a black aura surrounded the purse he was clutching and it shot out of his hand. Two shining eyes stared at him from the darkness of the inside of the hood. The man began backing away from the figure when another voice came from the shadows.

"You definitely shouldn't have done that."

He ran but something collided with his middle. Breathing hard he lay on the ground as a gloved hand grabbed his shirt and he found himself staring into…a mask. His eyes traveled down until he saw the gleaming R.

"R…R…Rob…" he gasped out.

A grim little smile played over Robin's face. "That's right. You think it's fun to rob some little old lady? Well not in Jump city. The Teen Titans patrol here and we don't like that, not at all. Any questions?"

As the crook tried to gain control of his voice Robin looked over to Raven hovering nearby and nodded toward the purse then to the street where the woman stood watching the rescue. Raven understood the request and went to return the stolen property.

The thief found his voice. "I…can I get up now?" He swallowed hard at the look on the boy's face.

* * *

He wriggled around trying to undo the bindings on his wrists as he watched the boy's cape flutter as he walked away.

"Jump city will be easy he said, great place to get some cash he said. What about the titans I said, they're just a bunch of kids he said. Yeah right…"

* * *

Raven floated a foot off the ground waiting for her teammate. She brushed dark blue hair out of her eyes as Robin walked up, a little grin on his face. It kind of disturbed her that he seemed so cheerful when wailing on crooks. Then she decided she was being harsh on him, he played around and acted like a normal kid off the job. Raven was serious herself, and she was the first to admit it. She glided over to where Robin was getting on his R-cycle.

"Do you think maybe you were too hard on him?"

Robin ran his fingers through his spiked hair. "Nah. Though I kind of wish that a real fight would show up. Y'know, that guy was barely a workout."

"Careful what you wish for."

The teen wonder snorted and turned away. Raven had noticed this slightly distant and reckless attitude surface since the incident with the ninja. The over confidence was **all** too normal but this desire for trouble worried her.

Robin waved to some approaching figures. "Hey guys! Over here!"

Speedy, Starfire and Beastboy came forward, the changling perched on Speedy's shoulder in the form of a green spider monkey.

Starfire smiled happily, "We encountered no trouble or danger on our patrol. Please, how did you do?"

"We caught a guy trying to steal some lady's purse but other than that pretty quiet."

"Aw man!" Speedy moaned. "I wish something would happen. I want a real fight!"

"Be careful what you wish for." As Raven said it for the second time she was struck by how alike Speedy and Robin's thoughts were. The boys were slamming helmets on their heads as they argued.

"Come on let me drive!"

"Not going to happen. I'm not letting you anywhere near my bike's controls."

"Oh, scratch the bike once and I'm a big threat!"

"Scratch the bike?! You totaled it! It took me weeks to fix it. You're a disaster on wheels!"

"You're so dramatic. Lighten up."

"You are not driving, end of discussion."

* * *

Raven could tell that Beastboy was watching her. She glanced over her book, glaring hard at him.

"Whatever it is; **no**."

"Aw, come on, you don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Very well, what?"

Beastboy slumped against the couch. "Wow didn't actually think you'd give in. Honestly I don't know what I was going to say, I've got nothing to do."

"You boys are all the same. Not happy unless you're fighting. You could have gone with Star to the mall, or with Robin to train, you could've even gone jogging with Speedy." Raven bit back the urge to do some pretty nasty things to the talkative teen.

"Naw…I guess I'll go play some video games." He grabbed a controller and began blowing up bad guys, his fingers a blur as they sped across the controls and he muttered under his breath, insulting his opponents. Raven went back to her book.

* * *

"Come on…one…uh…more!" I hauled hard, pulling my head above the bar then falling back onto the mat. _A thousand pull-ups. I'm the man._ Wiping sweat from my forehead I leaned back, calming my breathing.

Take it easy they say. They just don't get it. They don't understand that for me training **is** my relaxation, I feel great while I do it. I admit some of my work-outs are a bit…intense. Still it feels good to push my limits. I live for it. It's how I roll. Why do I feel like I'm trying to excuse my actions? I mean, I'm just really motivated. It's always been that way; they just don't see it because they never had to live up to… _No don't go there. Not now._

I heard the wisp of the door opening and sat up, immediately running my fingers through my hair. "Hey Star, what's up?"

Starfire beamed at me, clutching a LOT of shopping bags behind her and wearing a sparkly headband in her red hair. "Hello Robin. I was at the mall of shopping and I thought you would like this." She handed me a book and I leafed through it, skimming the text. It was full of unsolved crimes and uncaught criminals from various eras. _Sweet._

"Thanks Star." I looked up from the book and realized we were standing close to each other. **Really** close. We both took a step back, not meeting each other's eyes.

"I told the man at the store of books that you would solve those easily." Star said.

"Bet I can." I agreed. _Come on, say something__** not**__ pathetically stupid_. "I like your headband, it's nice." _Nice?! Mayday, mayday! You're going down boy wonder, quick, think of something!_

Star turned to leave. "Thank you."

_Nice? Not beautiful, gorgeous, lovely or even pretty, but nice? _I sighed; put me up against a cold blooded killer and I won't even hesitate, but put me in a room alone with a pretty girl…

_Redheads…_

* * *

"What're you doing?"

I bit my tongue in surprise and yanked the cloth back over my project, praying he hadn't seen. "Nothing, Speedy. Go 'way." I could taste blood, fantastic.

He frowned. "You've been acting odd lately."

"So has Beastboy."

"Yeah, but that's normal. You okay?"

"I'd be better if you left."

"Okay, okay, mister grumpy. Oh by the way, Cy called."

"He did?" I was immediately interested. I hadn't talked to my friend since he had headed out to help Titans East with their serious tech issues and was still a little nervous about the conversation we'd had.

"Yep, he said to call back. See ya'." Speedy strolled out, tossing me a cell. I punched in the number and grinned as he picked up.

"Cy! How are you?"

Cyborg laughed. "It's only been a week, Robin. How's it been at the tower?"

I shrugged. "Same old, same old. No mega-crime though...kind of suspicious."

Cyborg snorted. "That's just you looking for a mystery. Sounds like everything's under control. So…how have **you** been?"

I tried not to grimace. So he hadn't forgot…

"I'm good."

"Have you talked to anyone about whatever it is that's bothering you?"

"…no."

"Rob…"

"I'm FINE." I stood and began pacing. "Like you said, everything's under control."

There was a long pause and then Cyborg asked. "Have you made a move on Star yet?"

_Don't let me be turning red, don't let me be turning red_. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on." Cy was grinning; I just _knew_ it. "You do to. Dude, she likes you back, ask her out."

"I advise you to stop talking now."

Cy laughed and we chatted for a while before he signed off. I stood, thinking about nothing, for a moment then hurried to get the others. It was time for us to have a little fun.

* * *

Raven tried to ignore her teammates. Really, she did.

Beastboy and Speedy were locked in a battle of virtual cunning and as they desperately tried to beat each other at the newest racing game, Raven was tempted to crush their controllers. And possibly their thick skulls. Just then Robin ran up and stopped her homicidal line of thought.

"Hey, there you guys are. Where's…" Starfire entered. "Sweet. Come on, I want to show you guys something."

Interest aroused they followed down to the garage, where Robin stood next to a large object covered with a tarp. Raven wondered what was under it, but still wished she was reading her book. Robin turned to Speedy and grinned.

"Okay dude. Last night officially annoyed me to the edge so I'm glad I finished this before I felt the need to strangle you. I wanted to do something to thank you for all the help you've been so I've been working on this for a while, hope you like it."

The spiky haired crime-fighter pulled off the tarp leaving Speedy stunned. An orange motorcycle stood gleaming on the garage floor. Speedy gave a whoop of joy and high-fived Robin.

"You ROCK! Come on guys let's get some pizza, my treat. We need to celebrate."

More like he wanted an excuse to try out his bike, Raven thought. Her book would have to wait.

"Soooo…" Beastboy leaned back after the team had devoured five pizzas. "Do we have any plans? I mean there's pretty much no mega-crime. Not much to do since all the badies took a hike."

Robin's eyes narrowed beneath his mask. "It has been quiet…ever since-"

With a flick of her hand (and her black aura) Raven promptly upended a pitcher of water over his head. He spluttered and coughed; his hair in his face.

"What was that for!?"

As Beastboy and Speedy fell out of their chairs laughing she replied calmly, "No talking about that ninja." Robin glared at her and she shook her head. "He's gone. End of story. We will enjoy this break."

As she watched him wring out his hair, Raven couldn't help but think that while she could stop him from talking about it, she couldn't stop him thinking…

* * *

I sat on the counter back at the tower, a boom box blaring next to me.

"_He's gone. End of story."_

_Look what happened last time they thought that about someone..._

Opening the file in front of me I sighed and began leafing through the sheets of yellowed paper. Between my annoying tendency to think about HIM and that ninja I'd let my detective work get away from me. _Hmm…_

"DUUUUDE!" _Beastboy_. I didn't even need to look, it had to be him. Running in at a speed that Kid Flash would have been proud of, he flung himself in the nearest person's-Speedy's-face and babbled; "GuesswhatGuesswhatGuesswhat!"

"**WHAT**!?" Speedy yelled pushing him away in annoyance.

"I got tickets to only the single coolest thing ever to happen here!" As Beastboy showed him the tickets Speedy's grimace became a grin.

"The circus?"

"Yeah! This is gonna rock!"

_Circus…_ "Which circus, Beastboy?"

"Um…Haley Brothers' Extravaganza."

_No…_


	3. Chapter 2: Pawns Forward

**Chapter Two:**

**Pawns Forward**

"_**When you see a good move, look for a better one" -Emanuel Lasker**_

* * *

_No._

_NONONONONONO. Not now. Not now that I've finally gotten a new start_.

I was probably white as a sheet because Starfire was suddenly at my side, asking me something but in my panicked state, I could barely make out what-

" Robin, are you alright?" Raven was looking up from her book for the first time during the whole incident and there was concern in her normally emotionless eyes.

I wiped my sweating hands on my shirt and mumbled something, taking a calming breath. "I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Beastboy looked around. "So you guys in?"

"Heck yeah!"

"It sounds most enjoyable!"

"…Sure."

"No."

* * *

Starfire's eyes widened as she watched Robin turn and walk to the door. "But…"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."

Beastboy stood in front of him, looking up shrewdly. "Wow, that's usually Rae's line. Why not? It'll be fun and maybe it'll get you out of this funk you're in…"

Robin's neck stiffened and he locked eyes with his green friend; he was quickly losing control. "I. Do. Not. Do. Circuses. OKAY?" He took a deep breath, that had come out a little harsher than he meant it to and he needed to get out of there before he did something he'd regret.

"Why?" Beastboy asked irritably, noticing his leader's anger and not understanding why it seemed to be directed at him. Then he grinned. "Ooh, I got it, you're afraid of clowns!"

"Any sane person is, but that's not my reason." Robin tried to laugh it off as he pushed past his friend.

"But dude…"

"I'm sorry, but I won't change my mind. I'm not going."

Leaving them standing in bewilderment he slipped through the door and was gone. Star gazed around, feeling the tension in the air. "He was…quite upset."

"Upset? Try totally psycho!" Beastboy was livid. "Now one of my wonderful tickets will go to waste. Unless…" His eyes lit up. "Unless there's a girl out there who wants to go with a really good looking green super-hero…some really pretty blonde girl with big blue eyes and…"

Raven rolled her eyes. "A pretty, normal, girl? Dream on." And thus everything went back to normal. Well, close as it ever got.

Speedy was staring at the door like he was debating going after his friend. From the moment the words 'Haley Brothers' had been spoken his eyes hadn't left his friend's. He knew it was only a matter of time before the whole thing blew up in everyone's faces.

All they could do now was wait.

* * *

Robin was dreaming.

Thrashing about in a chair he moaned as a song filtered into his mind. The teen had fallen asleep after a few hours of searching for anything on their new ninja 'friends' but his recent lack of sleep had finally caught up to him and he dozed off with his head on the table. Before long he was dreaming and the stresses of the past few weeks, in particular the last few hours, were breaking free.

_He was standing on a building. A thick fog surrounded him as he began to walk, trying to find someone, anyone…_

'_He flies through the air with the greatest of ease,'_

"No…mom…dad…"

_He started to run, his heart rate speeding up._

'_The daring young man on the flying trapeze-'_

_"NO!"_

Everyone in TitansTower sat bolt upright at the scream. The teens ran into the control room to find Robin trying to help up Speedy, who was sprawled on the ground, holding his nose.

"I-I'm so sorry. I'm so so so sorry. I…you snuck up on me and I just reacted…"

Beastboy stepped forward. "Rob? You okay?

"I'm fine."

"Then why is Speedy on the ground?"

"Just butt out!" Robin's voice was suddenly hard. "It was an accident."

"An accident that almost broke my nose…" Speedy mumbled. Robin whirled on him.

"Look, I said I was sorry! You shouldn't have-"

"That's ENOUGH!" Raven's voice cut through the arguing and made the bickering boys freeze.

Beastboy was still fuming. "Dude, we're just trying to help, so please just answer us for once and tell us WHAT YOUR DEAL IS?"

Robin blinked. He shook his head and took a shuddering breath. "I-It's nothing, seriously. I'm really sorry Beastboy. It's just-"

"Robin?" Starfire's voice was shocked. "You're…crying…"

A gloved hand shot up to feel his damp face where tears had leaked out of his mask. Robin took in the shocked looks on his teammates faces; he NEVER cried, they'd seen him go through a long range of emotions but he'd never allowed himself to show this particular weakness before. Groaning he dashed past them to his room.

"Robin!" Starfire started after him but Speedy held her back.

"No." He said. "Let him calm down first. I'll deal with this, okay?"

"But-"

"Look he was having a night-terror-"

Beastboy frowned. "Night-terror?"

"Think nightmare 2.0. I was dumb enough to try to touch him and he hit me. Look, he's done this before. Let me try to get through to him…"

He closed his eyes tiredly; this was going to be painful.

* * *

"Two years!" The phone broke as Robin threw it against the wall. "I lasted TWO YEARS!" He kicked his laptop toward the desk. "WHY?"

Panting, he flopped down on his bed, burying his head in his pillow. He had held it together for two years. Acted like he was fine. They had never asked about his past, even Beastboy in his most fan-boy moments hadn't bothered. Now this, losing it like that in front of his team, his friends, _Starfire_…

His face buried in his pillow, he fisted the sheets and closed his eyes. "_Why?_"

"_Come on Dick! I'm here!" Her hands reached out._

"_No mommy. I'm scared…"_

"_I'm here, I'll always be here…"_

_**But you couldn't be there for them**_

"_Dick!" Her hands reached out._

_**You failed them**_

He sat upright. Two nightmares in one evening, this was not a good sign. Pulling himself into the bathroom, he faced the mirror; grasping the sink's edges and glaring into the burnished glass.

"Alright…Who do you want to be right now? Robin," He pulled of the mask. "Or this pathetic excuse for a hero?"

Staring at his exposed face, he bit back a bitter laugh. When had this happened? When had this face become so hateful to him? Robin rubbed at his eyes wearily. When had this face become the mask? Well, he knew _who_ had taught him this viewpoint. _So thanks for that_, he thought. _Well done, you son of a-_

The knocking on his door made him splash cold water on his face, toweling it furiously before pulling on his mask and walking to the door. "Yeah?"

Speedy brushed past him and pulled the door shut. "We need to talk." He pulled of his own mask. "Look, I get it. Why drag up the past right? But you're losing it, big time, and I won't bail you out."

"Roy, listen, this won't happen again. I swear. Once the circus leaves-"

"No. It won't change when they leave. You're lying to your friends!"

Robin's eyes flashed. "I am not, this is me; this is who I am. That other boy isn't important right now, not here." He turned his back on Speedy. "So just-"

"YOU IDIOT!" Speedy yelled; he looked ready to throw a punch. "It's like I don't even know you anymore! We've been friends forever, when I was going through rehab, you encouraged me to keep going. You and Wally and Garth probably saved my life but whenever I try to help you-"

Robin turned around. "I don't need help-"

"You shut me out dude. You Shut Me Out."

They stood staring at each other. Robin struggled to get out his feelings, his normal talent for diplomacy failing him. "Hypocrite."

"Yeah, well, I am as my father made me. We're both proof of that, aren't we?"

They stared off for a moment, before Robin looked away. "Am I really that bad?"

"YES!"

He laughed slightly and sat down, feeling drained. "That's just fantastic…"

"If it makes you feel better, you're not always that bad." Speedy joined him. "Just if you feel threatened."

"I sound like a wild animal." He laughed and grinned at his friend. "I really am glad you're here. It's been a while since I've talked like this."

"Wouldn't be a problem if you let someone on your team in. Do any of them know the guy behind the mask?"

"No…I wanted them to just…trust me without all that…didn't feel like it mattered. As long as liked me as Robin, I felt like I was…"

"Safe?" Speedy sighed. "Yeah, okay, I get that."

"Your team know you?"

"Yep. First thing we did. Did you know Bee's name is Karen?"

"…" Robin smirked.

"Of course, forgot who I was talking to." He clapped Robin on the shoulder. "Come on Wonder Boy, let's go smooth things over."

As Speedy turned to leave he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. Robin sighed. "Let's compromise…okay?"

"Compromise?"

"You don't bring up the past, and I'll come with you guys and try to be normal."

_Tempting_…Speedy bit his lip and then grinned. "Oh, alright…but on one condition…"

Robin frowned. "…this can't be good…"

* * *

"Popcorn, cotton-candy, peanuts, soda, pretzels and pizza…Am I missing anything?" Beastboy looked up from taking inventory of their snack foods and looked over at Speedy. "Well?"

"Corn-dogs." Speedy muttered, stealing a handful of popcorn and searching through the crowded tent from their front row seats.

"No. No meat."

"You are _so_ weird. Where are those girls?" Speedy craned to see over the multitude of heads searching for their friends. "They were just going to the bathroom and why do they have to go in packs? The show is gonna start and they could be anywhere, even-"

"Here?" Speedy jumped at the sound of Raven's voice. The girl sat down between him and Beastboy, crossing her arms. Starfire gazed around full of wonder, taking in the swirl of colors and the exotic smells. The air seemed to be alive with electricity. She squirmed around in her seat and turned to Beastboy.

"This is most exciting!"

Beastboy smiled. "Yeah I know! And the show hasn't even started."

The pretty alien smiled back at him but felt a pang of regret.

"_I'm fine, and I'm really sorry for losing it earlier." He smiled sheepishly, prodded on by Speedy. "Um…I didn't want you guys to worry, but I'm not feeling so good…so I really don't want to come…"_

"_Then shall we stay home?"_

"_No way, go have fun okay?"_

She looked down sadly as she thought of him pushing them all out the door.

"And now! Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages!" She jumped slightly as a middle-aged man walked to the center ring. "Welcome to The Haley Brothers Extravaganza! Our opening act is a show of astounding areal magic, performed by our fabulous duo, Hawk and Dove! But before their magical performance, we are pleased to introduce, _only_ for our stay in Jump City…an extra special performance from the last of the renowned Flying Graysons…Our own Dickie Grayson!"

Star's eyes widened as a boy threw himself off the platform and sailed through the air before grasping the trapeze. As he went through a series of acrobatic flips, the crowd below whistled, clapped and whooped. He swooped, flew, circled, flipped and drew the energy from the crowd; giving them exactly what they wanted. There was something surreal about the way he moved through the air, so at home and calm as he danced a dangerous routine high above the ground. As he landed on the platform and took a long bow Speedy smiled.

"Little circus brat…" He gave a long whistle that pierced the air. The boy caught his eye and winked, giving an overdone, flourishing bow in his direction.

Beastboy looked at him curiously. "You know him?"

Speedy shrugged. "Not really…"

"But he just…" Raven slapped a hand over Beastboy's mouth as the next act made their way to the center ring and a few minutes later the green changling didn't care anymore; all of the young heroes sat transfixed.

* * *

I actually was having a good time. How is _that_ for a shocker? I could have strangled Speedy when he made the suggestion but now I totally owed him. Which was kind of an uncomfortable notion. None the less, I was having a hard time being irritated about that. Something about being around old friends, and being on the ropes again, really felt good. Really, really, _really_ good.

I was happy to get to talk to Pa Haley but I really needed to get home, it had been two hours since the show had ended and the others would be heading home soon. I was making the rounds, saying good-bye to everyone, when a man and woman approached me, the woman holding a small child.

"Hello, my name is Kurtis." The man said shaking my hand. "This is my wife Lisa; we wanted to say that it was a pleasure to see you perform. We saw your act with your parents twice."

"Really." I said in surprise. "Where did you catch us?"

"New York." The wife, Lisa, spoke up. "And Gotham. I'll never forget that night."

_Lady, neither will I._

"We thought they were amazing." Kurt said. "That's why we named our daughter Mary. That _was_ your mother's name right?"

Suddenly I felt like crying and laughing at the same time. A warm feeling spread through me at their praise of my parents. "Yes, it was." I swallowed hard. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"I don't know…just thanks."

Suddenly the woman passed the child to her husband and pulled me into a hug. A memory of my mom washed over me as she moved away. "I'm sorry…that was forward…" She smiled sadly. "You are such a brave boy…"

I watched them walk away and stared around at the families heading home. A pang of longing coursed through me. Sometimes I missed them so bad. Then I closed my eyes and pictured them, trying to remember their presence. My memory of them was dimming, I was forgetting their voices, their faces and… Shaking myself out of my trance, I turned as a hand fell on my shoulder. Pa Haley looked down at me with sympathy. "I know, lad, I know. I miss them too."

I ran my hand through my hair. "Yeah…thank you, sir. It's been so good to talk to you. To see everyone…"

"You know you always have a place here."

"Yeah…I guess I should head out…"

He patted me on the back. "If you ever need anything, just call." For the hundredth time I let myself be pulled into a bear hug. This time I allowed the gesture and buried my head in his shoulder.

"G'bye Papa."

* * *

Speedy yawned and watched Beastboy try to hit the cans with a ball. He rolled his eyes as Raven sighed.

"You're never going to hit it."

Beastboy glared at her. "You should have more faith."

"Dude. It's _rigged_."

They managed to pull the green boy away from the game stall and wandered to the gates. Speedy considered hunting him down and making him say hi, but he was liable to kill him if he did that…

Their communicators all lit up. Raven glanced at hers and snapped out. "Someone's robbing the electronics store on first street…"

"All right!" Beastboy and Speedy whooped. She rolled her eyes.

The teens arrived just as the perpetrators burst through the door. Starfire's eyes widened. "They are…"

"Our little ninja friend and some buddies." Robin landed next to her. She gaped at him.

"Your illness?"

"I'm suddenly feeling a lot better." He grinned wolfishly. Speedy moved to his side.

"Now, why am I not surprised? Can I say it?"

"Wait for a second. I want to try something…" He took a step forward and addressed the thieves. "One chance to surrender. You saved my life, so I'm feeling a little generous. Put down the loot and any weapons you possess and come quietly."

The leader laughed contemptuously. "Surrender is not an option. Our master was very clear about that."

"Yeah, about him, tell him that Jump City is off limits and he should have stayed hidden. Gotham to tough a nut to crack or is old Ra's just slipping?"

The man's eyes widened, surprised that the infidel boy had pieced it together and angered at the insult to his lord and master. He and his companions positioned themselves for battle.

Robin smiled at Speedy. "Okay, now, now you can say it."

"TITANS GO!"

With that, the two sides clashed.


	4. Chapter 3: Strike Hard

**Chapter Three:**

**Strike Hard**

**"_War does not determine who is right - only who is left." -Bertrand Russell_**

* * *

Robin dodged a blow and came down on the ninja's back with a hard chop. Springing forward he watched his friends.

It wasn't that he didn't trust them; these assassins were out of their league. _Foot soldiers_, he thought bitterly, _mere distractions_. The one in command posed a much greater problem. The ninja in question leapt out of the way of one of Starfire's starbolts and delivered a kick to the young alien's middle. She went down hard as Speedy jumped onto his back and pulled him away from her stunned form. The ninja pitched forward and the crimson archer flew through the air, landing next to his pretty friend who was already pulling herself upright.

Beastboy had three of the ninjas cornered, growling at them in the form of a mighty dinosaur long enough for Raven to snare them in a bubble of dark aura. The leader appeared suddenly, wrapping his arms around her neck as she lost her concentration and the others were freed. He pushed the empath to the ground and stopped an attack from a Beastboy-turned-gorilla with deadly ease. Turning to follow his companions, who had fled to the rooftops, he found himself face to face with Robin. He smiled.

"So, now we will see if you are as good as my master makes you out to be."

Robin did not speak, merely crouched and beckoned with his hand. The man threw himself forward and lashed out with one arm. Robin blocked it and returned with a punch of his own. The ninja leapt back and then swiped at the boy's head. The teen wonder dropped and lashed out with a blurring kick, sweeping the man's feet from under him. The ninja sprang to his feet, enraged and lunged at the nimble boy who simply went into a series of blurring backward hand springs and threw a handful of gas pellets at his foe. The man snarled as he flinched.

"Coward! You resort to trickery and hide behind toys; you are not worthy of the master's praise or-"

A quick kick to the face silenced him. "Call me an opportunist but never a coward."

Robin stood erect as the injured ninja rose and was about to lay another blow when a shot rang out and a laser hit the boy's shoulder. With a strangled cry he collapsed, clutching at his arm. The ninja stood and looked at something over him, anger radiating from his smoldering eyes; he kicked the semi-conscious boy.

"It seems I am being called back. Your good fortune. I will kill you when next we meet."

He was lost into the shadows as Robin's world went black.

_Not again…_

* * *

I could hear someone calling my name as I tried to pull myself through the fog clouding my senses. My vision swam as I blinked and slowly sat up. My shoulder was on fire but the rest of my body seemed intact; I looked around and took in my friends who were staring at me in horror. Speedy was crouched next to me, holding me up with a hand at my back.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh huh. It was set to stun." I joked as I rubbed at my shoulder and winced. "C'mon, it takes more than a sharpshooter to take me down. So how did you enjoy your first encounter with the league of assassins?"

I watched the realization dawn as Speedy groaned. "Seriously?"

"Well, these losers hardly made the cut." I smiled and shrugged. Standing, I rubbed my shoulder some more and assessed the rest of my body. All seemed right. Nodding to myself, I walked to the bike. "Come on."

"Where to?" Raven asked, pulling up her hood.

"You guys are gonna need background info." I looked at them over my shoulder. "We're out of our league here. WAY out of our league."

Beastboy frowned. "How bad?"

"Trigon bad."

"Oh, that bad…"

As we arrived at Titans Tower my mind was still reeling at the huge problem facing me. How could I explain about Ra's…without going into why and where I met the maniac? I turned to Speedy, who had rolled to a stop next to me on his new wheels. "You have to help me."

"Huh?"

"I have to tell them everything they'll need to know in order to survive this, but to do that I might have to bring up…" I held up two fingers to the sides of my head to create two pointy ears.

"Ooh…that'll be tricky. How have you lasted this long without bringing up…" He mimicked my gesture.

"There was never a need to." I looked at my teammates, who were flying down to join us. "We were friends and teammates and didn't care about the past-heck, look at what happened with Raven. I know you think I'm avoiding the problem but I just can't do it. I just can't bring it up…"

"I know…" Speedy clapped me on the back, "You're so fragile."

I smacked him hard and rolled my eyes.

"Dude, it's okay. You shouldn't have to bring it up. I'll help…"

We clomped upstairs and entered the control room. Before I could say anything Speedy was bounding forward. "Alrighty ladies and gents, here's the lowdown on the L of A. The League was founded by Ra's al Ghul, exactly when is unknown, cuz he can use these thingies…"

"Lazarus pits." I said in spite of myself. "He's pretty much immortal. The pits can revive any injured man and being the dead to life."

Beastboy scoffed. "You expect me to believe that?"

"You watched Slade die, then come back to life with fire powers, and fought against a intergalactic demon." He drooped sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't think this should be too out there. Ra's al Ghul is a dangerous man and must not be taken lightly. His name means Demon's Head and he deserves the title. His goal is to reform the world by killing off our race and rebuilding it." I nodded at Speedy. "Go on."

"Members of the League have demonstrated willingness to die at a word from Ra's, and in seriously gruesome ways. They have included some of the most dangerous assassins in the world. For much of its current history, any member who fails in an assassination is in turn targeted by the League…but I think they've gotten a little more lax on the area. Anyway…We're dealing with a smaller contingent than ones, say, the JLA have fought, but I think that we may be in for a hard fight."

"That's an understatement." I folded my arms. "I think I know their leader. Ra's has a personal bodyguard named Ubu. I think that's who we fought today and who saved me earlier."

"Hold, on! Say what now?"

* * *

"But why did he do that in the first place?" Speedy asked after being told about the incident. "It doesn't make sense."

"Nothing Ra's does ever makes sense." Robin rubbed at his forehead wearily. "We don't have to know why, just stop him."

Starfire came forward cautiously. "How?"

"I don't know…yet." He folded his arms and frowned harder. "We don't even know what they stole…"

The teens spread out and gave it some thought.

Raven floated into the kitchen and began to brew some tea. She tried to think about the problem at hand but the fear and confused anger that radiated from Robin was distracting.

Starfire cuddled with her pet Silkie and tried to think of some way to help her teammates. She hated seeing Robin so upset.

Beastboy halfheartedly flipped through the channels, looking for a news-report on the robbery. He wished he could cheer everyone up.

Speedy didn't even try to come up with a solution. He watched Robin's breathing increase and his fists clench. The archer put a hand on his shoulder and leaned toward him. "Relax." He hissed. "You'll freak everyone out."

Robin shook his head helplessly. "I…can't…"

"Go through those breathing exercises you taught me and CHILL!"

Glaring, Robin did as he was told.

* * *

I have this…issue.

People think I'm oblivious to it but really I'm not. It's like with Slade. I know that he can push all my buttons and that I really shouldn't have gone after him that time now dubbed 'the apprentice incident'. That did not mean that I was going to sit it out. I am aware of my limitations and choose to ignore them.

In other words I am an idiot.

Life is a lot crazier when you ignore your common sense.

Anyway, the thing is that, ignoring Slade, I'm usually pretty in control. I know how to keep my anger in check and take things at a reasonable pace except when…HE comes up. I'm not mad, not really. It sort of…wore off. But habits are hard to break. And the habit was to totally freak out at the merest thought of him. And facing one of HIS foes definitely falls under that category so now I couldn't even think straight and had Speedy of all people telling me to chill.

So not cool.

"Chemicals."

We all stared at Beastboy. He pointed to the TV. "They stole chemicals."

"_-a large amount of a special chemical enhancement that scientists at Wayne Enterprises were in the midst of finalizing. It was to be used to improve the performance of soldiers in the field. There were very few witnesses but there are claims that the Teen Titans attempted a collar of the thieves earlier at another scene but were-"_

I was already on the computer; with practiced ease I typed in the password and gained access to the Wayne Enterprises databases. Raven gave me an I'd-be-surprised-if-anything-surprised-me-anymore look and asked the question I had hoped everyone would overlook.

"How do you know that password?"

Really wish I hadn't had to show that particular card…

"Long story. Not important. Here we go…Aw man!" I paled and the others immediately came forward. "There is no way he knows they're doing this."

"What?"

I scowled as I typed. "They're designing high tech weapons! Serious fire-arms…oh, not cool."

"So?" That was Beastboy.

"Wayne doesn't make guns. Ever." Speedy; I wasn't really paying attention but Speedy knows Wayne better than the others… I smiled at my handy work. Next time HE looked over anything in his office, he'd see the red flags I set up. Perfect, now to erase my tracks….

"Why is that?" Star.

"OHHHH, it's 'cuz of that thing when he was little right?" Beastboy, but now I _really_ didn't want to listen… Done. Perfect. Another strike against violence made possible by the Wayne Corporation. Now then…

"What thing…?" Raven.

"You see-"

"GOT IT!" _Wow, that was a close one_. I scrolled through the file. "Okay, they're calling it 'Wrath'. Just look at some of the ingredients…venom, _really_? Steroids…high traces of…is that…geez, where would they even…"

Shooting a look over my shoulder I noticed that the others' eyes had sort of glazed over; they had no idea what half of the data meant. I grinned. Then I felt it slide off my face. There were a few reasons Ra's might want the stuff and none were very comforting… "We need to find them…SOON."

"No kidding." Speedy leaned forward and placed his head near mine. He whispered so only I could hear. "Can we call in back-up?"

"NO." It came out harsher than I wanted it to. There was NO WAY I was calling for help.

Rubbing my hand through my hair I drew a long breath and shook my head. This didn't add up.

Yet.

* * *

Raven sat down on her bed and drummed her fingers on a book cover. There were a lot of things bothering her at the moment. Since her powers had negative effects to emotion, she knew she needed to sort things out. First there was the obvious problem, the ninjas in Jump. Robin had made it clear that they were out of their league; somehow they would have to defeat these men with minimum damage. Ninjas. Well, they had faced Slade's robot-commandos but those had been robots, this sounded harder. She lay back and sighed. Then there was Robin himself; he was going off the deep end. No question there.

She frowned. Speedy…was it just her or were they closer than they appeared? He was handling their leader pretty well; obviously he knew more than he let on. How deep did that relationship go? Robin had been acting up since the incident on Father's Day-

No.

Before that even.

She pursed her lips and rolled over and onto her knees. Father's Day…that was what had initially triggered it. Irritation welled up inside her as she realized she couldn't get on his case; if she did he would just send her questions back at her. She sighed and fell against her pillow.

Then there was the password. How had he known that? Sure, he seemed to know everything, but that was just odd. She closed her eyes and gently reached out to touch at his consciousness. Still clouded by fear, anger, confusion, suspense, sadness-

-and guilt?

Her eyes opened and she frowned.

Why guilt?


	5. Author's Note

Robin371 left me a review:

_This is really good. A few missing words but other than that it's amazing. Can you continue with you story? I don't want to sound like everyone else that has been grilling you to write faster. But you haven't posted in years. Please continue with the story it's really good_

Honestly, I started this when I was in middle school and obsessed with this show. I'm now out of high school and have slightly different tastes in cartoons. However, I could never really let go of this show so I think I can continue. So here is the deal. Be patient, I will continue but first I need to rewrite the first couple chapters so they match the writing style I use now. I'm also in college and working on a couple of other stories but I have friends who can help me get this done and I promise it will be finished. So since you all ask, please wait and I will get a new chapter out asap.

Thank you, Rangermaid


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